When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road watching, because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.

But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness came.

Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.

We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

Have You completely rejected Judah?
Do You detest Zion?
Why do You strike us
with no hope of healing for us?
We hoped for peace,
but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing,
but there was only terror.

But

For her wound is incurable
and has reached even Judah;
it has approached the gate of my people,
as far as Jerusalem.

I form light and create darkness,
I make success and create disaster;
I, Yahweh, do all these things.

If a ram’s horn is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid?
If a disaster occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it?

General references

Only desolation remains in the city;
its gate has collapsed in ruins.

We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing, but there was only terror.